


he is half my soul (as the poets say)

by DesertLily



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But only a little, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Mild Angst, Romantic Soulmates, Self-Loathing, So many AUs o o f, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25720828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertLily/pseuds/DesertLily
Summary: Patroclus and Achilles were always doomed to have a shared fate. They were unknowingly linked from the very beginning to the very end. When given a second chance, the string of fate will gladly take its chance to lead them back to each other.
Relationships: Achilles/Patroclus (Song of Achilles)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 126
Collections: My Bookmark





	he is half my soul (as the poets say)

**Author's Note:**

> A fic for a friend!!

Patroclus had grown up knowing he was  _ not _ extraordinary. He was always smaller than boys his age. He wasn’t interested in aggression and fighting. He was interested in books. He was not fuelled by power or the urge to find his way to the top of the food chain; to dominate the world around him. He was everything his father didn’t want in a son. He was a family embarrassment. He was simply...Patroclus and Patroclus was never good enough. The one thing his father hadn’t shamed him for was the fact he was gay. In fact, Menoitius seemed to use it as a chance to connect with his son; to play the part of a doting father. Perhaps it was his way of showing he genuinely cared, or his way of trying to persuade Patroclus to live his life in his father’s image. If he accepted Patroclus then Patroclus would play his part in the life planned out for him. 

Unfortunately, Patroclus disagreed. 

That was how he found himself working towards a medical degree, ignoring his father’s insistence that he study business. Patroclus had never had any interest in following in his father’s footsteps; of taking over the family business. No, he had always wanted to help people - and what better way than a medical degree? It was his small act of rebellion; his act of defiance. University only seemed to complicate things. After all, it was at university that his soulmate string appeared. 

It was said that when man was created, each person was created with two heads, four arms, and form legs. However, Zeus separated them into two separate beings. It was in this creation that the concept of soulmates had been born; the ideal of your other half - someone whose soul lined up with yours perfectly. It was cheesy and dramatic, but Patroclus had always been enticed by the concept. Of course, not many people ever found their soulmate and those that did didn’t always end up falling in love with them. But when you first meet your soulmate, it was said that a piece of string would appear around your finger - only seen by your soulmate. A string that would link the two together forever. Patroclus had never thought he would find his. 

But then it appeared whilst he was walking through the main university canvas. 

The canvas packed to the brim with hundreds of new students. 

Fuck. 

There was no logical way he could pick out his soulmate in that crowd; it was disorientating to look at. But still, there was a glimmer of excitement in his chest.  _ He went to the same college as his soulmate _ . There was a real and genuine chance that they would meet. He had a chance at a happily ever after - even if his life wasn’t a fairytale. So he kept his eyes open every time he walked around; alert for a matching piece of string that only he would see. He desperately looked for his other half. That was how he met Hector. 

Patroclus should have paid more attention to where he was going. Instead, his eyes were fixated on the students around him. That was how he ended up walking directly into someone. He stumbled back slightly. “I’m so sorry!” 

The man he had walked into just smiled; it seemed sincere - friendly even. “No harm done! You looked like you were miles away.” He teased. Patroclus couldn’t explain why but the man left a sinking feeling in his stomach. His instincts told him to get as far away from the man as he could. “I’m Hector.” He introduced. “I’m guessing it’s your first year here?”

“Patroclus.” He let out a nervous laugh. Hector. The name sounded familiar to him - like a memory that he just couldn’t quite remember. “And is it really that obvious? I’m still getting used to...everything.” 

Hector wrapped an arm around his shoulders. The action left a bad taste in his mouth. “Then I believe it is my moral duty, Patroclus, to give you a tour of campus.” That was how he found himself being led around the university campus. Hector turned out to be surprisingly...friendly. Patroclus’s instinct to say away from him made no sense. The only bad thing about Hector was that he was studying business. But apart from that, he was perfect friend material! The two were fast friends. In all honest, Hector was his first real friend. 

Patroclus’s second friend came in the form of Briseis, a fellow medical student. Just as with Hector, she felt strangely familiar. Unlike Hector, Patroclus felt no anxiety towards her. He only felt comfort; relatability. He knew from the moment they met that he could trust her. She was honest, kind, and just...good. She had a smile that felt like home. She was not his soulmate nor was he  _ in love _ with her, but Patroclus quickly learnt to love her. She became like family to him. But meeting Briseis seemed to have consequences. 

The day he met her was also the day the dreams started.

Patroclus was lucky in that he had no roommate. There was no one to bother when he decided to stay up all night studying or call him out for playing Toxic by Britney Spears on loop for  _ hours _ . There was also no one to bother when he woke up in a cold sweat with an unknown name sitting on the tip of his tongue. His dreams had grown...strange. They felt more like memories but they couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. The dreams showed Greece millenia ago; it showed him a life he didn’t remember living. It showed him a friendship he didn’t remember having. It showed him the blond haired boy but never gave him a name. Briseis was there sometimes too, in the latter dreams. Finally, he was given more faces and names. Agemmenon. Odysseus. Ajax. Diomedes. Troy. He was remembering Troy. 

In all honest, Patroclus had never given much thought to his namesake. He knew he was named after a Greek hero but he never bothered to learn his story. But when he was cut down by  _ Hector _ of all people whilst wearing the blond boy’s armour, he decided it was finally time. It was time he learnt Patroclus’s history. It was there he got the blond boy’s name. Achilles. The same Achilles as ‘Achilles’ heel’. That Achilles had loved him and he had loved Achilles. Further digging gave Patroclus the end of his dreams; the death of Patroclus and Achilles. Patroclus had been killed by Hector whilst disguised as Achilles, Achilles had killed Hector in pure rage, and Paris had killed Achilles to avenge his brother. It was tragic. It was  _ his _ past. Somehow, he knew deep down that the dreams were far more than that. They were definitely memories. 

Patroclus the medical student and Patroclus of legend were somehow the same person. He had been another Greek tragedy. Was this the life he would be doomed to again? But if the dreams told him about Achilles and his soul string had only appeared after he started university, could that mean…? No. Patroclus didn’t dare hope for that. It was ridiculous. It was impossible. ...Right? 

Patroclus should have expected it really. His friendship with Hector had always been surface level at best; superficial at worst. It was fractured from the moment it began. After all, Patroclus had been killed by Hector and directly caused his death as a result. And from the look on his face?  _ Hector definitely remembered that _ . Shit. Saying that it was no good would probably be an understatement. Patroclus had been walking back from the library when it happened. One second he was walking and the next he was shoved against the wall by his so-called friend. One glance around would confirm his fear; they were alone. There was nothing protecting Patroclus from Hector. He no longer had Achilles’ armour. “It’s sick, isn’t it?” Hector’s voice oozed venom. “How you pretend to be my friend when you  _ know _ what you caused. You ruined my life and you ruined  _ his _ too, right? He wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t killed me. And the reason he killed me was all because of you…”

Hector’s anger was more than a little bit understandable. Patroclus deserved to be on the receiving end of his rage, even if he didn’t want to be. “Hector, I-” 

Patroclus’s attempt at responding was met with a backslap. “Shut up!” He did instantly, trying to ignore the stinging pain that lingered on his cheek. “You don’t get to speak anymore or lie.You don’t get a say in this!” Then it happened. Hector threw the first punch and Patroclus didn’t even try to avoid it. He let the man throw punch after punch after punch at him. And once it became too much and he slumped over onto the ground, the punches turned into kicks. Each one leaving him breathless. But he didn’t fight back. This was his punishment for Troy. This was his punishment for causing the death of Achilles; his  _ beloved _ . The holder of his heart. 

Then the strangest thing happened. Hector stopped, but not of his own will. He stopped because someone had pulled him off of Patroclus. “You don’t get to touch him! You don’t get to so much as look at him!” That voice...To call it familiar would be an understatement. Hearing it was like an arrow through his heart. It was the voice that haunted his dreams, but Patroclus didn’t dare look up. He didn’t dare look upon  _ him _ again. But the glowing of the string around his finger was a reminder that he  _ had _ to. This was his other half. Once more, he had found the missing part of his soul. But he didn’t get a chance to look up as his saviour knelt down besides him. “...I failed to protect you from him before,  _ philtatos _ . It will not happen again.”

A hand gently resting on his arm was enough to get Patroclus to finally look up. “Achilles.” He breathed his name with almost disbelief. He was there. He was alive. He was his  _ soulmate _ . In that moment, no matter how much pain Hector’s beating had caused him, it felt as if everything in the world was going to be okay. Because not even Hades had been enough to keep the two apart. Patroclus and Achilles were always destined for each other. They would  _ always _ find each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Or hmu @ desert-lily on tumblr!


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